News

Fastenal Pulls Double Duty this Weekend at Homestead-Miami

November 17, 2015

Fastenal will pull double duty this weekend in sponsoring Chris Buescher in the No. 60 Fastenal Ford as he looks for his first championship in the NASCAR Xfinity Series on Saturday afternoon and will also sponsor Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the No. 17 Fastenal Ford Sunday afternoon in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Stenhouse has three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway (HMS) with an average starting position of 19.3 and average finishing position of 27.7.

In the 2015 NSCS season, Stenhouse Jr. has scored one top-five and three top-10 finishes.

Last Year at Homestead

After battling back from being two laps down, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. drove his Fastenal Ford to a 22nd-place finish in the 2014 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

On the Car

Fastenal is currently in its fourth season as a primary partner in the NSCS for Roush Fenway. They spent three years on the No. 99 before jumping over to the No. 17 entry, and were the primary partner on the No. 60 XFINITY team that captured the owner’s championship in 2011.

Florida Native

Mike Kelley, who was the crew chief for both of Stenhouse’s XFINITY championships and now serves as the car chief, is from St. Petersburg, Florida.

Stenhouse Jr. on racing at Homestead:

“Homestead is one of my favorite tracks. Our 1.5-mile program has improved over the season. We really need to have a strong race this weekend to carry that momentum into the off season. Based on our past couple of 1.5-mile races, I’m confident that we will have a solid run in our Fastenal Ford.”

Nick Sandler on racing at Homestead:

“We have definitely seen improvements with our 1.5-mile track program so I think we should have a strong showing this weekend at Homestead. Homestead is tricky because the race starts in the day but ends at night so you don’t want to over adjust on your car. I think if we can keeping adjusting on our car then we should leave Homestead with a solid finish.”

ADVANCE NOTES

Buescher at Homestead-Miami Speedway

Roush Fenway Racing’s Chris Buescher will make his second start at Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. Buescher’s first start at the 1.5-mile track came in this race last season, where Buescher qualified 10th and finished fifth.

Heading into the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Buescher maintains an 18-point lead over Chase Elliott in the driver point standings. In a season that has not seen Buescher rank lower than third, the Prosper, Texas native has sat atop the standings for the last 23 consecutive weeks.

Buescher has two wins on the season, at Iowa Speedway and Dover International Speedway. The sophomore in the NASCAR XFINITY Series has led 263 laps this season, earning 11 top-fives and 20 top-10s. Buescher has completed 99.9 percent of the total laps run in the 2015 season.

Over the past 47 years, Fastenal has grown from a small-town fastener shop, to a thriving regional business, to North America’s largest fastener distributor, to the world’s most efficient supplier of OEM, MRO, and construction products. Fastenal operates nearly 2,700 stores spanning all 50 states and 20-plus nations.

Recapping Phoenix International Raceway

Buescher battled a No. 60 AdvoCare Mustang that was too tight to fight through the field in last Saturday’s NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Phoenix International Raceway. Buescher ultimately crossed the finish line in 13th, maintaining his lead in the driver point standings with just one race left in the 2015 season.

QUOTE WORTHY

Chris Buescher on racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway:

“We are ready for this weekend’s race at Homestead! This was a very good race for us last year, and I know the 60 team is ready to go down there and wrap up this championship. We have had a great year, but now it all comes down to this last race. It will be a fun weekend, hopefully a top-five race for us, and a chance to celebrate afterwards.”